The Burkinabe Dramatist Wants to Eliminate the Taboo Around Rape

Oliva Ouedraogo displays a piece of cloth that appears to be blood-stained under a spotlight in a completely black room. Her voice drowns out the loud hum of a generator as she exclaims, “Long live the girl!” This is an unfortunate need as power outages have left Mali’s Bamako metropolis in complete darkness.

On October 15, Ouedraogo’s play “Queen,” also known in French as “Reine,” debuted at the Acte Sept cultural institution. It is about a girl who, after being raped by her stepfather on the night he marries her mother, speaks out against her family.

She expresses her ire at the fact that the victims of this assault are viewed as “dirty” and “trash,” and that they feel compelled to keep quiet to prevent family strife.

Nearly half of Malian women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been victims of physical or sexual assault at some point in their life, according to official statistics.

According to a survey by the Malian National Institute of Statistics, 68% had never discussed the violence with anyone.

The director of the Acte Sept cultural centre, Adama Traore, stated that he suggested staging the play because he believes that the silence surrounding rape is a serious issue.